The Truth About Iris
by Andrew Borealis
Summary: This is what happens when my writer's block goes away for a while. I would normally call something like this "awesome", but I don't know if you would all think that as well... Either way, beware of sob story, it involves Iris.


(A/N: Hey, my writer's block has gone away... temporarily... It comes and goes. It's much better whe nit goes, because then I can give you all my work, and make all you fans happy. The fans are the best part of this business, after all.)

Disclaimer: I know, it hurts, but I don't own Zero, or any other MegaMan character... Sad, isn't it?

The Truth About Iris...

It was a year after Lumine's defeat… Axl was making a full recovery, thankfully… The day was one I would remember for the rest of my life… Or, at least, that life…

It was the anniversary of Iris' death…

As usual, I wasn't very sociable on that day… When I had originally told everyone the lie that I did, Alia started crying right away… She never knew what really happened…

X and Alia had finally realised certain things about themselves, and, finally, had become the most widely known couple in the Hunter Base. I was happy for them, I really was…

Layer had finally worked up some courage as well…

"Zero?" she started. "Are you all right?"

I turned back to my new support unit and smiled weakly. "I'm fine…" I lied. I always lied about stuff like that… Ever since the Eurasia incident, I always had some doomsday situation involving me fighting my best friend going through my head.

"Uh… I know what day this is…" Layer told me. "You know, you don't have to worry about me like you worried about Iris."

My eyes went wide.

"I know, but… Everyone I get close to aside from X dies…" I replied. It was true, too. I had become extremely good friends with the Colonel, and Iris was on a whole other level… And I destroyed both of their lives… "I… I just need to be alone for a while…"

Layer merely nodded. I started to walk away as I heard her footsteps down the corridor.

Three hours later, there was a knock at my door…

I sighed… "Come in…" I said. Alia came in through the door, sitting down next to me.

"Hey, Zero, are you all right?" she asked.

"Everyone seems worried about me today…" I told her. "I'm fine…"

"I'm not." She stated. She and Iris had been best friends for a number of years before the Repliforce War. "This day always weighed heavy on me ever since you got back from Final Weapon… How can you be _fine_ with what happened?"

"I just _am_…" I said, blankly.

Alia started to tear up. "How is that possible?! Iris cared about you more than anyone else ever did! She even told me that she _loved_ you! Did you just not care?!"

That struck my last nerve…

I stood up, stepped forward, and turned around all in the period of a half-second.

"NEVER SAY THAT I DIDN'T CARE ABOUT IRIS!" I shouted. "I _loved_ her! I would have _died_ for her!"

"Then why are you like this every year?!" Alia retorted.

"Do you want to know why?! EVERYONE I HAVE EVER LOVED IS DEAD! THAT'S WHY!" I screamed. "Do you want to know what happened? What _really_ happened all those years ago?"

"Yes…"

"She. Died. At. My. Hand." I told her, as sternly as I could.

"Zero…?" Alia covered her mouth, tears flowing out more than ever.

"She had gone insane with grief for Colonel! She had a part of him with her! And she tried to KILL ME!" I continued. "I had no choice but to defend myself! I thought that maybe if I destroyed the armor that was controlling her that she would be safe! That… Was the battle I never wanted to win…" I, myself, was tearing up by then. "I thought, that if I destroyed the power core for the armor, then it would just dissapear… But it didn't… It exploded… Both the power core, and the armor itself exploded… I tried to save her… I really did… But I couldn't… I couldn't save her…"

"Zero…" Alia started again.

"She died in my arms… by my horrible, bloodstained hands!" I finished, starting into incoherrant sobs…

Alia finally understood where I was coming from… The next thing I knew, she was holding onto me… "I'm so sorry, Zero… I'm so sorry…"


End file.
